What to Look for During Spring Fishing with Bob Downey

Each Spring, as bass transition from their wintering holes towards the shallows for their annual spawning ritual, there are specific pathways they tend to follow where you can intercept them and load the boat in a hurry. Here, Bassmaster Elite Series angler, Bob Downey, breaks down what to look for when targeting and patterning bass during all phases of the spawn. The most important factor is locating the key spawning areas, then backing away from those towards slightly deeper water until you locate staging prespawn bass. Typically any form of cover outside of protected spawning areas will hold fish as they transition towards the spawn, and once you've located them you can usually follow them all the way back into their spawning grounds. As the spawn wanes and bass get into their post-spawn funk, the game plan is the same but reversed - simply follow the fish back out towards the main lake or main river channel and target those same pieces of cover where you found them during the prespawn phase.